Easily the craziest day of my life. No Question. Starting immediately when I got off the plane in Medan. As soon as I walked out of the airport, I knew I was in over my head. I said, "Jesus, you're gonna have to take it from here 'cause I got nothin'."
I started asking questions about airlines, buses, everything.(For the team that I was scouting for) I got some info about the airlines(To and from Nias), and then I walked over to the main airport area to get a taxi. This guy stopped me and asked me where I was going. I said, "Sibolga". He told me to follow him to his transport so I did. Turns out he's driving a rusty beach cruiser with a side-car, called a "Tuk-Tuk". I tell you, I hit the ground running. The guy was weaving in and out of traffic. He made a right turn from the left lane, across a line of cars.(They drive on the left side of the road) It was absolutely insane.
I asked him to take me to the bus station. He took me to this little mini-bus syndicate, instead of the bus station that I requested. When we got to the mini-bus syndicate, they were adamant about me taking their van. It cost 40,000 Rupies more than the bus, but it turned out to be so much better(better than I imagine the bus ride would have been.)
God's hand was on me like I've never seen. Looking back, I see that He has essentially carried me the entire way. From chaos in Medan, to the beautiful bungalo on the beach that I write from. I am in Lagundri Beach, sorry, Sorake Beach in Nias. It is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. There is a world-class right hander breaking in front of this house, a shallower cousin farther up the reef, and a left called "Machine" just inside the bay. Why am I here? I have questions, but I feel that I should just enjoy God right now.
Back to the journey. For the first hour in the mini-bus, I thought that the 3 guys were gonna kick my ass and take my money. I was ready to throw down. As it turns out, they were just taking me to Sibolga.
The driving in this country is insane! They pass into oncoming traffic all the time. There are so many near misses. I can't believe there are not more accidents. My driver was awesome. He passed every single car, motorcycle, bus... anything that was in front of us got passed up.
It was the most beautiful scenery along the way. When I wasn't afraid for my life, I was really amazed at how beautiful the island of Sumatra is. It was 10+ hours of chaos and beauty swirling around each other.
To be continued...
All content copyright © 2005 Timothy Jones (a.k.a. nobody)